It’s absolutely silent on deck. The men that remain are all here to either die in glory, searching to keep their families safe, or are creatures of pure fucking madness.
None of us are noble men, and yet here we all are trying to save the Balar Coasts.
I’ve felt Misery’s powers too intimately to not at leastattemptcutting off this poison before it seeps into our world. If he can affect me so greatly when he’s weak, him at full strength, with an entire cult behind him, would ruineverything.
This is even for my mother. A woman I wrote a letter to, handing to the men that remained behind. For my sister, wherever she is. A better world is never something one can hope will materialize, or stumble upon.
Corruption is a permanent sickness that we have to physically cull, and nothing is achieved without sacrifice.
I cannot leave this world knowing I failed two people that I love. And Jane has fought so fucking hard—chills wash over me as I think of what she’s done. Shehasto know we’re trying. That we didn’t forget about her, not for a single moment.
Someone climbs down from the crow’s nest, my gaze lowering slightly to peer at the blackness of the sea. “We spotted flickering fire in the distance, sir! Probably best to anchor here.”
Liam strolls the deck, peering around as if he can read details in the wind. “Let’s lower the anchors!”
My heart pounds, as it’s happening. Our success, or failure, will be unveiled very shortly. And I amnotleaving that peninsula with failure; I will either return to this ship with Jane or die on that soil.
Turning around, I address my men. “Move to the edges!”
I pass by Liam, who gives me a nod. “I wish you fair winds, Zenith.”
“Be ready for us,” I reply.
There’s a tunnel vision one gets; at least, I know I do. I have a role to perform, and a task to achieve.Nothingelse matters.
I move among the others as we near a gate the crew unlatches, everyone shouting at each other to increase our energy.
Ritter and his followers, along with mine and Basilisk, all stand and wait. Rorge is the only one to remain, along with a few that are either sick or otherwise incapable of joining.
Ritter no longer has his long coat, and looks more like the mercenary I heard legends of. His energy finally vibrates with consistency; he’s not only going to save his daughter, butfinallyclaim his revenge.
“Do not fight the waters!” I shout. “The sirens are in there! Let your body sink and they will find you!”
I near the opening, ready to be the first to jump. I can barely see the swells that rock the ship, and even harder to spot are a few heads poking above.
The sirens.
It’s officially time.
It feels entirely wrong to willingly jump overboard into an ocean so vast and powerful, but I’m so fucking ready for this.
Stepping out, my body is weightless as I plunge below, tensing as I fall into the icy waters, my body sinking with this heavy armor. As I hold my breath, hands grip me from all over, a few blurry sirens in my face, a small glowing orb tied around their necks and floating around their heads. One shoves something into my mouth, my body seizing as salt water enters my nostrils and lungs, swallowing the thick, globby mess. It’s a substance that has to mix with the ocean water as it’s consumed,and once it’s down my throat, my body thrashes at the new sensation, gasping only to inhale water.
The sensation of drowning morphs into something almost pleasant, the pressure of the water eventually comforting. My throat burns on the outside, and I raise a hand to feel water suck in and push out from gills in my neck. My vision even sharpens. The frigid water is now refreshing. Two sirens keep me afloat as men drop through like pebbles, all sinking until sirens are among them and administering the transformation they need, the men thrashing until their bodies also adjust.
The sirens glide through the waters like the most elegant marine life, their hair effortlessly floating, swishing, and swirling. I’m handed a rope with leather around the handles, and a siren takes the other end as she begins to swim, pulling me forward. “We made these for your men, to make it easier to hold.”
My eyes widen at the sensation of being pulled underwater without fear of drowning; it’s such a weightless relief. The rope is long enough that I’m not directly in her wake, but I can feel the ripples of her tail.
The rest follow as we’re guided through the darkness of the ocean. I can’t even really tell that there are large swells above, or that a storm brews.
I glance back at the belly of Storm’s Fury, barely visible in this darkness. I can sense that Ritter and Basilisk are close behind, along with Bones. There’s a whole fucking armada of us being pulled to Ashfire, arriving under the guise of a storm.
The pulse of their collective energy grows more profound the closer we get, every one of their ripples a beacon of who is in the way of Jane. The razing of this place will be a message that if Jane’s targeted, they’re inviting my wrath.
And let this also be the clearest message to anyone eventhinkingabout supporting Misery. He may be the god whose powers I use, but he wouldn’t be the first sire I sought to slay.
The initial excitement slowly ebbs into uncertainty, as there’s no marker for where we’re at. No indication that we’re actually making progress.
